


The Phantom Beast of the Forest

by msperfectsheep



Category: Danny Phantom, Gravity Falls, Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon & Comics)
Genre: Beast!Wirt - Freeform, Crossover, Danny's kinda stranded, F/M, Older Greg, Time Travel, is this just shennanigans?, maybe a real plot, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-03 05:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21174107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msperfectsheep/pseuds/msperfectsheep
Summary: Summer after Weirdmageddon was well, weird. Dipper and Mabel Pines returned to Gravity Falls, expecting a summer of average Gravity Falls level weirdness. Not too boring, but not too insane. They expected the average Gnome attack or Vampire stakeout, but not the truth. Not a summer of confusion and denial.





	1. 1

_Led through the mist_

_By the milk-light of moon_

_All that was lost is revealed_

_Our long bygone burdens_

_Mere echoes of the spring_

_But where have where we come and where shall we end?_

_If dreams can't come true_

_Then why not pretend..._

_ _How the gentle wind_ _

_Beckons through the leaves_

_As Autumn colors fall_

_Then, sing in a swirl_

_Of golden memories_

_The loveliest lies of all_

-oOo-

A cool wisp of air came from the boy's mouth as he sat, kneeling in the fresh white pureness of snow. He looked at the creature before him, hollow and twisted, made up of branches twisted in a human-esque figure. The bright toxic colors of the creatures eyes. Then the soft comforting buttery light of the lantern in his hands. He teared up and turned his head, looking at a branch covered boy, almost as pale as the snow around him. He looked back at the creature, face slack, eyes wide.

"I...I...accept." he stuttered out. He bent his head to stare at the earth, tears falling down his face and into the snow. The tears seemed to vanish as they hit the soft snow beneath him, as if they held no warmth.

The beast before him cackled, and the boy's brother, the child wrapped in branches, fell over. The boy scrambled over to his brother immediately and shook the child, screaming, "Greg! Greg! Wake up!" The child didn't move, its frozen body still in the boy's arms.

_"_**Come.**_" _the beast commanded.

The boy held his brother's head up to his chest, and felt that there was no pulse. He choked on his tears, barely able to see his brother's body anymore. He wiped away his tears and looked at his brother once more. He sniffed and stood, taking off his blue cloak and draping it over the body like a blanket. He brushed the snow off of his brother's face and kissed him on the forehead.

"Goodnight Greg. I'll see you again in the morning." he choked out before facing the Beast and joining it by its side.

-oOo-

A young boy awoke in the ambulance, his whole body shivering. His clothes were soaked, and his hair was dripping water. A frog lay on the sheet they had placed on his small body. A long red bag lay on the floor beside him.

"Hey lady? Why is there a bag there?" the boy said, his curiosity defying the pain in his throat. His whole body felt cold, like it had been washed in ice. The only part of him that was warm was a spot on his forehead.

An EMT sitting near the foot of the stretcher averted her eyes. "I'll let your parents tell you." she murmured.

The boy smiled. "Okay lady." he looked at the wall of the ambulance, became bored and sat up. "Hey, did you know my brother is the best leader ever? He made me leader, but when we were facing a big mean beast he was leader again and he beat the Beast! Isn't he so cool?"

The EMT grimaced. "That sounds cool." she commented, trying to keep her voice level. 

The ambulance slowed, and the doors opened. The stretcher was wheeled into the hospital, and the boy's parents were led inside. The EMT grabbed the bag and had another EMT help her. They grabbed it and carried it into the basement of the hospital, the morgue.

A man down there unzipped the bag and took it off of a teen with brown hair and pale skin, wearing a soaked red gnome hat and a blue wool cloak. The skin was water logged and nearly translucent. The man took out a piece of paper and wrote, "Walter Parkinson, Age 14." and stuck the tag on the dead boy's toe. The EMT watched, eyes wide, as she saw the man walk upstairs to tell the parents what had happened to their son. She shed a tear for the boy's brother who seemed to look up to his sibling so much, for he would have no brother any more.

The funeral took place 14 days after, with only a few of the boy's friends from school and his family attending. The dead teen's brother, the brother named Greg was asking the whole time, "Why is Wirt sleeping?" Not one person offered an explanation to the small child.

They were all too busy grieving the death of a boy who died too young.

A boy who would never be able to return to them.


	2. 2

Trapped. Locked up. Imprisoned. All of the above.

Danny Phantom, hero of the Earth, was trapped in the Ghost Zone. Locked up in a cell. Imprisoned in a home belonging to a ghost. All of the above was thanks to Clockwork, ghost of Time.

Danny's vapor tail swished back and forth like a metronome. He stared out into the green murky miasma of the Ghost Zone, wishing he was anywhere but there. He sighed and slumped against the phase-proof walls of his cell. "Hey Clockwork? Can you let me outta here? I have a date with Sam at 6 tonight at the movies." He called. 

Clockwork, in his young adult form, floated up to the bars of Danny's prison. "Sorry Phantom, no can do. Your destiny states you need to be here until _it_ happens."

Danny's head felt light. "What does that mean?" 

Clockwork shifted into his old human form. "The passage of time. You needed to be somewhere you weren't going to be without my assistance. Wait for about 3 more seconds."

Danny counted in his head. "Now what?"

Clockwork shifted into the baby form. "This. Good luck, Danny Phantom." He opened the cage and created a portal in which Danny was sucked into. The last thing Danny saw before the green light of the portal blinded him was Clockwork shoving a medallion into Danny's body. With a sick turn of his stomach, he realized that would make it impossible to leave the time era he was being sent to without Clockwork's assistance. In short, he was prisoner to the ghost's whims.

And then, it all became green.

-oOo-

When Danny awoke, he was lying face first in soft damp soil. His hair was speckled with the rich black earth and his face smudged with dirt. His white t-shirt was almost completely discolored, and worst of all, he had dirt in his mouth. He spat it out in disgust. 

"Bleh. That's gross." He coughed, dirt specks flying everywhere. Danny cleared his throat and spit out the rest of the soil. He watched as his spit flew through the air and hit a pine tree. It slid down and went back into the ground. 

Danny stood and tried to brush the dirt off best he could, looking at his surroundings while doing so to try and get a sense of where and when Clockwork had sent him. It was almost completely useless, for all the trees were pine and the forest was average, with nothing super special about it. At least Danny knew he wasn't in an apocalyptic world. 

He squinted and looked for the sun. It was a bit to his left and Danny tried to think of what time it could be. Morning or afternoon? His gut told him morning, so he turned 180 degrees and walked in what he hoped was North. 

A few hours later, the sun reached its apex and glared down on Danny. He was tired of walking, but it was too risky to go ghost. He kept walking, hoping to somehow find civilization at some point. He started counting the number of trees that weren't pine while he walked, but it wasn't very fun. He grew bored of his game quickly and went back to walking in silence. He walked through streams and plains, even around a lake. It was exhausting, and Danny felt like he was doing something wrong. The sun had lowered to his right, nearing the horizon. Danny knew nighttime was upon him, so he ventured into the nearby forest, looking for a possible cave or shelter to sleep in. 

While looking, Danny stumbled upon an old mill, crumbling. The wood was rotted and the building in shambles, but it still had a roof and fireplace. Danny snuck inside and lit a fire in the hearth, sitting on an old red couch to feel the heat. The warmth of the fire made Danny feel much less exhausted, but also at the same time extremely tired. Danny laid on his side, facing the fire, and soon fell asleep, listening to the crackle and popping of the dancing flames. 

-oOo-

A creature walked through the forest, the only things visible to it illuminated by the yellow light of the lantern in its claws. It stomped on the leaves below its feet and broke the branches of the trees in its way. Its multicolored eyes were focused ahead of it, seeking only the familiar sight of a certain Edelwood tree. 

But, before it could even go near its desired destination, a source of light caught its eye. A orange yellow light coming from within the old Grist Mill. The creature made its way to the mill, curious to see what could've possibly lit a fire inside the dilapidated building. It pushed open the door of the mill to find a boy with black hair and clothes beyond the time era sleeping on the ragged red couch by the hearth. 

The creature stood and observed the boy, watching as his chest rose and fell in a steady pace. It analyzed the clothing, noticing the white t-shirt with a printed logo on it, the blue jeans, and the red converse shoes. Clothes the creature had seen a long time ago, before it had become the creature.

The creature slowly walked into the light of the fire, and its face was illuminated. The face of another young boy, no older than 15, with messy brown hair and a pale face with sunken cheeks. It wore a red pointed hat covered with the roots and branches of an Edelwood tree, and a dark blue wool cloak wrapped in gnarled dying vines. The shoes it wore were mismatched, one brown and the other black. This creature used to be human. 

The creature walked up to the boy and studied him. The boy looked so peaceful, so young. Tragic that he had ended up in the Unknown at his age.

The creature turned and left, all without making a single noise.

It would come for the boy later, if he chose to stay.

Stay like the creature chose to almost two centuries ago.


	3. 3

Summer. A word tied with thoughts of beaches, ice cream, fighting demons and preventing the apocalypse, etc. 

Well, scratch the last idea. That was just for a branch of the Pines family. To be more specific, twins Mabel and Dipper Pines, their best friends, and their Great Uncles. All of which had met and fought in a small Oregon town by the name of Gravity Falls in the year 2016. 

It was now 2017. Currently, Dipper and Mabel found themselves on the bus from Piedmont, California to their Great Uncle, or Grunkle for short, Stan's home. Dipper stared out the window of the bus, watching as a seemingly endless line of pines tree whizzed by him. Mabel had her eyes closed, listening to a song on her phone. Dipper grabbed his suitcase and walked out of the bus, following Mabel. 

"Thanks Greg. You planning on performing this year for the kids? They always love it." A raspy voice said. A man dressed in a suit wearing a red fez hat and eye-patch stood behind Dipper and Mabel. He hugged his great niece and nephew.

The bus driver smiled. It was a man with soft brown eyes, a kind smile, and extraordinarily neat hair. "Probably Stanley. I mean, last year was a weird case, you know what I mean?"

Stan chuckled. "Sure do. See you later Greg! Say hi to the kids for me!" He waved as the doors closed and Greg drove the bus away. Dipper and Mabel released themselves from their hug and smiled at their Grunkle. 

"Hey Grunkle Stan, where's Ford?" Dipper asked. It had been a year since he had last seen either of his Grunkles, and he knew that both of them had left to go on adventure around the world. It was obvious that they were back, but still a bit confusing as to why his other Grunkle wasn't there. 

"He's at the Mystery hack with Soos and Melody. We have a little something back there waiting for you two." He smiled and patted them on the backs. "Get in the car. We're going back to the shack."

-oOo-

When they got there, a surprise party was waiting for them. Wendy and Dipper exchanged back their iconic hats, Mabel was crushed by Candy and Grenda, and Waddles and Pacifica bonded over their love of pink. 

The party was a great success, reaching deep into the night all the way into the wee hours of the morning. Dipper and Mabel fell asleep in their beds upstairs, exhausted from the day of excitement that they had experienced.

Their dreams were not as pleasant as their welcoming committee in Gravity Falls.

-Dream-

"Woah! We're in a dream together! Yay!" Mabel laughed as she jumped into the air and floated around. Dipper tapped his foot, thinking. 

"Why are we both in a dream? Bill was defeated, right?"

"Stop worrying Dipdip! Just have fun!" Mabel grinned a metallic, slightly manic smile as she grabbed a nearby floating rock and chucked it at Dipper. It bounced harmlessly off of his translucent skin, but Dipper flinched and closed his eyes out of reflex nonetheless. When he recovered from the unwarranted attack, he saw a figure in the distance, somewhat humanoid and almost completely monochrome.

"Mabel, who's that?" He pointed to the figure, who seemed to be coming near.

Mabel swam through the air towards the creature. "It's okay, Dipper! It's just a weird looking boy!"

The "Weird looking boy" came into focus. He was indeed a boy, and also an odd one at that. He clothes was a black rubber jumpsuit with white trim, his hair and skin were as white as marble, and his eyes were glowstick green. He laughed good-heartedly. "I don't look that bad, do I?" He pretended to take out a mirror and check himself.

Mabel landed on the ground and somersaulted onto her feet. "Bwahaha! You look just fine, weird boy." 

Dipper shook his head at his sister's antics. "Don't mind Mabel. She can be a bit much at times. I'm Dipper." He gave an awkward little wave.

The boy nodded. "Yo, its cool. I like crazy sometimes. It's refreshing. Name's Danny Phantom."

Dipper backed away, eyes narrowing. "Did you just say Phantom? Are you one?"

Danny Phantom rubbed the back of his head. "I...didn't used to be one? I was turned half ghost by a machine when I was fourteen. I got stuck here a few years ago and haven't been able to find a way out. You two are the first people I've met since coming here, so that's probably why I'm willing to divulge this much info."

Dipper took a moment to let the information soak in. Mabel poked Danny's cheek. "Boop. How come I can touch you if you're a ghost?"

Danny laughed a bit when she poked him. "I'm a halfa. Half ghost and-" White rings formed from his belt strapped to his waist and encompassed him. He now had a deep tan, black hair, a white tee, jeans, and red shoes, and eyes the color of the sky. "Half human."

Dipper yelped. "How did you do that?"

"Pretty simple actually. I just conce-wait. Did you just hear something?"

Everyone became silent, and Dipper could make out a song being sung in the distance by a young male voice. 

_O potatus et molassus_

_Si velis eis quaere a nobis_

_Lenes et caldi valuti catuli_

_Plene cum petri dulcibus_

_O potatus et molassus_

_Si velis eis quaere a nobis_

_Lenes et caldi valuti catuli_

_Potatus et molassus_

_Grow, tiny seed, you are called to the trees..._

Danny's eye grew wide. "We need to run and hide, now. Do not think of home or anything tied to the real world. Be as quiet as possible." He grabbed the sibling's hands and ran towards a grouping of floating shrubbery. 

Dipper took Danny's word for the time being and watched as a figure walked to the spot they had been seconds ago. Despite the Dream Land having perfect lighting, the figure was shrouded in darkness. The only light emitting from within the bubble of shadow was the warm light of a candle or lantern(he couldn't tell), and the multicolored eyes of the creature. Mabel was about to speak but Dipper shot her a look and she zipped her lips together. 

The creature stayed around the rocks and its song shifted. 

_Come with me to a land of freedom_

_Endless journeys and adventure_

_This opportunity is only open to some_

_And those who escape are even fewer_

The tone was bitter and regretful, but with a twinge of love and purity. Dipper felt entranced by the creature's aura. Danny placed his arm on Dipper's chest, stared him in the yes with his fluorescent blue ones, and shook his head. "Don't be tempted. Watch." He whispered.

The creature sniffed and looked around. The shadows seemed to enlarge and spread, and a demonic cry screeched from within the shadowy dome. Twisted grotesque branches as dark as ebony shot out from the bubble, writhing and twisting in a rhythmic dance to the tune of the beast's scream. The branches became longer and thicker, and crept towards Dipper's hiding spot. Danny's white rings surrounded him and he became white again. Danny grabbed ahold of Dipper and Mabel and turned see-through, causing Dipper and Mabel's bodies to do the same. A branch reached where Dipper sat and poked right through him before going onwards. Dipper held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut.

_Please come along, along with me_

_You'll never be too far from the tree_

_Live in harmony, untouched by society_

_And let your soul stay as pure and pretty_

A swirling vortex was created above them in the sky, large and multicolored. Dipper felt himself being pulled towards it. He floated through the sky and was pulled inside the portal, journeying back to the real world. He opened his eyes just before he was completely sucked in, and saw the Beast dissipate into a pool of inky black tar.

-Dream Over-

Dipper shot up in his bed, bumping his head on the low ceiling of the Mystery Shack. Mabel was sound asleep, covered in a blanket of glitter and stuffed animals. Dipper pulled the covers off of him and stepped on the floor. 

Or what he thought was the floor. 

He looked down and screamed, seeing a passed out Danny from his dreams lying on the floor. He was covered in red flowers that let off a red pollen, and even though Danny was in the human form Dipper had seen in his dreams, he was deathly pale, his skin a translucent blue, veins completely visible. 

"Grunkle Stan?! We have a problem!" 


	4. 4

Rat Tat Tat Ta Rat Tat Tat Ta Rat Tat Tat Ta Rat Tat Tat Ta Rat Tat Tat Ta Rat Tat Tat Ta Rat Tat Tat Ta 

The metronomic sound of the sewing machine comforted the man as he stitched a pattern. The fabric his client wanted was cherry red, like the color 1950s pinup girls wore. Beside him on the table was a thick woolen blue cloak, with small brass fastenings. 

He was about done when said client walked in through the door. "Hey Mr. David, you done?" the man asked. He leaned his slim body against the front desk, his warm brown eyes watching as the seamster sewed the last few stitches. 

"One moment Greg. Perfection can't be rushed, amirite?" He grouched, squinting as he threaded the needle. 

"Yes I know." Greg tapped his fingertips in a pattern on the counter top. A pattern that resembled piano playing. "It's just that I have a good feeling for this year. I know he'll come back."

David pushed up his glasses. "Greg, I know you've heard this a million times, but you need to hear it again. Walter died over 33 years ago. You're 41. Greg, someone can't just be revived. You saw his body. I know it hurts, but-"

"No, you don't get it. Wirt- he couldn't have died. He's still trapped in the Unknown, that's all." Greg interrupted.

"Are you still going to those therapy lessons? Greg, we're all worried about you. Look at yourself. You drive a bus every other week, teach piano, give puppet shows to kids, none of which are real jobs. I get it, your parents are well off. But you need a real job man."

Greg rolled his eyes. "You're not my mom, Mr. David. You're Sara's dad. How much?"

David brought the coat and red hat to the counter and rung Greg up. "$37.86." 

Greg brought out his wallet and paid. "Thanks Mr. David! See you later!" He waved and left the store.

David watched as Greg got into his car and drove off. "While he may look like an adult, he's still the same clueless 8 year old from 30 years ago. I'm glad Sara got over it fast." David slipped on his glasses and got back to work, but a tear slid down his wrinkled face and dropped onto his fabric. 

-o0o-

"Woah woah woah. Wait. Are you saying Danny is real?" Mabel shouted from within the closet. Dipper shoved his hands on her mouth. 

"Shush! He'll hear you. Yes Mabel, that's Danny."

Mabel licked Dipper's hand and he released her, disgusted. "This is so cool! He's like a vampire boyfriend...Maybe he'll date me! I'm irresistible!" She laughed as she imitated herself from a year ago. 

"Date who?" Danny opened the closet door and Dipper fell backwards. The ghostly boy stared at the twins. "Were you talking about me?" 

Mabel squished her cheeks. "I'm Mabel Pines, the hottest_ teen _girl in all of Gravity Falls." She fluttered her eyelashes. "And that's Dipper, my little brother."

"By 5 minutes!" He got to his feet and held out his hand to Danny, who was a little shorter than Wendy, but not by very much. "I'm Dipper Pines, junior paranormal investigator."

Danny shook Dipper's sweaty and saliva covered hand. "Danny Fenton, son of Amity Park's resident ghost hunters the Fentons." He wiped his hand on his jeans.

"Your parents are ghost hunters? And they actually can support a family?" Dipper asked.

"Well, mom also is a professor at the nearby university and dad is a mechanic part time." Danny admitted. 

"That's so cool! Hey Danny, want some Mabel Juice? I put extra cookie in it this time!" Mabel asked. 

"Well, let's get you out of the closet first. Then I'l try your Mabel Juice." He laughed good naturedly. "And after that you can tell me where and when I am."

Dipper put on his signature hat. "You don't know what year it is? Or where you are?"

Danny backed away as Mabel "gracefully" came out of the closet, causing several boxes to fall in her wake. "No clue. I was wandering that dream real for quite a while. This place is nowhere near the place is started. It could be 408 BC for all I know!" He chuckled. "Probably isn't though, looking around this room." He sat on Mabel's bed.

Mabel smiled a brace-less grin. "Well, I'm gonna go get the Mabel juice. Dipdop, tell him everything he needs to know." She opened the door out of the room and walked down the stairs. Danny's eyes trailed after her until she disappeared from his sight. His eyes went to Dipper. 

Dipper paced around the room, tugging at his hat. "Let's start simple. The year is 2015. You're in Gravity Falls, Oregon. In the USA." 

Danny nodded. "Sounds good. I'm from Amity Park. It was 2008 when I left."

Dipper stopped paced for a brief moment. "2008? Amity Park?"

Danny nodded. "Uh huh. So not too far into the future."

Dipper went back to pacing. "Right. That's good we're from the same world. That can help us out. You remember your parent's phone number, right?" Dipper dug through his back pocket and pulled out a glittery, sticker-covered flip-phone. "You can use ours. It's a little outdated, but it was cheap and it works and that's all we reall-"

Danny took the phone and opened it. "-This looks like my sister's phone. Just..hers was a bit less accessorized." He interrupted Dipper's rambling.

Dipper shrugged. "Mabel."

Danny nodded at that and typed in a phone number. (248)555-6866. The phone rang and Danny pull it up to his year. Apparently it went through, because Danny started talking.

"Hello? Fenton Works?"

"Hi, my name is...Dan. May I speak to Jasmine Fenton please?"

"No, I'm not a boyfriend. I just have a few questions to ask her. I'm from her school and she won a contest."

"Yes, I understand."

"Jaz? You there?"

"Oh, thank god you're still in Michigan. Look, its me."

"No I'm not pranking you. I'm Danny. Danny Fenton."

"No! Jaz! Please don't ha-Dammit!"

He ended the call. "She thought I was a prank caller." He looked hurt.

Dipper looked stunned. "Didn't she recognize your voice?"

"Nope." He sounded sad. "I guess it has been 7 years. She probably thought I was kidnapped or something. That probably wasn't the best idea." He laid back on Mabel's bed. "I just hoped there would be someone I could talk to."

Dipper sat on his bed adjective to Mabel's. "Don't you have friends or something you can call?"

Danny shook his head. "Sam and Tucker are off who knows where. Unlike my family, they are bound to have moved somewhere. Probably at some college." He gave the phone back to Dipper. "Guess I'll have to stay here until I can figure out a game plan."

Mabel back in, carrying a tray of Mabel juice. "Here we go!" She handed a glass to both Danny and Dipper. "Enjoy!"

Danny sipped it. 

"Interesting." He commented. He tried not to laugh at Dipper's face of disgust, but he couldn't help it. A healthy laugh welled out of him, and it was infectious. Soon the whole attic was full of laughter. A sound that hadn't been heard there in over a year. 

And from the woods surrounding the Mystery Shack, a shadowed figure watched, its colorful eyes illuminating the darkened woods around it.


	5. 5

Danny had spent less than 28 minutes with these kids(more than that if you counted the dream-which he didn't), yet he already could tell they were going to be fast friends. Dipper, despite his awful name, was resourceful and smart, answering almost every question Danny had. It was really nice, not getting weird looks for being friends with the school goth or being the son of the ghost hunters in town. He was just Danny Fenton to Dipper. 

Then there was Mabel. Glittery, fun, optimistic, Mabel. He could barely believe this girl was a teen. She was too filled with happiness to be compared to any teen you'd find in a high school, but really, that was the charm. She wasn't your average girl obsessed with Britney Spears or a even a girl like Sam or Jaz. She was just Mabel. 

So, after downing some seriously good Mabel Juice(he'd have to ask her for the recipe), Dipper asked Danny a few questions.

"Danny, you're from 2008, right?"

"Yep." 

Dipper scribbled that down. "And did you dream about meeting us last night?"

Danny nodded. "Mhm. I don't know how you pulled my out of the Unknown, but you guys have to have been a catalyst for something."

Mabel asked the next question. "How'd you end up in the Unknown?"

He shrugged. "Ghost shenanigans." Honestly, it wasn't a lie. If he started speaking of his other adventures, they'd think he was insane.

"Lastly, what was that thing last night? The singing creature?" Dipper questioned.

"Some call it the Beast. In the Unknown, the don't talk about him much at all. All I know is how to avoid him, and that running into him is bad news. No one has ever seen its face, or fought it. It just wanders around, hoping to entrap its next victim." 

"Lovely." Dipper commented dryly. "Is it a demon? A wendigo? Perhaps a cryptid or mythical creature?" He was furiously writing something in his notebook, often looking between Danny and the papers.

Danny shrugged. He really, truly didn't know. The Unknown was creepy enough on its on, with its black turtles and pumpkin fields. Interacting with the locals was usually low on his list, and interacting with the Beast was a no-go. 

Why?

He couldn't become a ghost in the Unknown. Something he could trigger so easily stopped working whenever he entered the strange realm. He felt like he was always the Phantom, but being made of flesh and blood definitely proved that feeling false. Fighting it would be with all his human strength, and he had practically none.

"I can't say."

Mabel patted him on the shoulder. "Its okay! Mrs. Frinellie says that not knowing means you get to experience expanding your mind all on your own."

"Who's Mrs. Frinellie?"

"My social studies teacher. She drives a purple motorcycle!"

Dipper coughed. "Biased."

"What was that?" Mabel asked her twin. She may have not caught it, but Danny certainly did. He'd have to ask later, if he had time.

"Nothing. Just a cough." He lied. "But anyways, while you're here, want a tour? I can promise things here aren't gonna be boring."

Mabel nodded, clapping her hands together. "Oh I know! We can bring him to the Post-Weirdmageddon Museum!"

"No." Dipper vetoed. "How do you think any sane person would react to a place like that? Heck, Toby framed a picture of himself in Weirdmaggedon gear. No one wants to see that." Dipper reasoned, blanching. 

Mabel shrugged, sticking a wad of glitter slime on Dipper's hat. "Then maybe the arcade?"

"Pinball machine." He reminded her. 

The siblings went back and forth, with Mabel presenting more and more weird ideas and Dipper shooting it down with weirder phrases ranging from "Narcissistic unicorns" to "Gobblewonker"

Then again, thinking back on the things that went down in Amity...this wasn't actually that bad. Eventually, the siblings decided on something.

"How about we just show you our friends? We can probably hang out at Wendy's place." Dipper advised.

"Oooh yeah! Or maybe we can bring him to Robbie's house, because, y'know, Danny's a ghost, they have a graveyard..." Mabel hinted, elbowing her brother with a metallic grin. 

"No way. Me and other ghosts...most hate my guts. Its probably for the best if we stay away from haunted things, unless you want to see a ghost smack-down that I'm not equipped to handle."

Mabel slumped. "Aww man, I was hoping you weren't gonna say that! But okay Dan-Dan, we'll stay away."

"Cool. I'll call up Wendy and let her know. Danny, want us to keep the ghost thing private or no?" He asked, getting up from the floor. 

Danny followed him to his feet. "Yeah, probably. I know you said people of this town are used to weird things, but I'd rather keep it to myself for now."

Dipper nodded and a glob of slime slid off his hat onto his shirt. "I respec-Augh, Mabel!"

"You've just been SLIMED!" She laughed manically and slapped a glob of slime on Danny's head. "Double SLIME!" 

Danny laughed. "You underestimate me." Turning intangible, the slime fell right through and plopped satisfyingly on the ground. 

"Woah!" She scooped up the slime. "Its really cold."

Dipper shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You two try not to destroy the shack. I'm calling Wendy." He looked down at the glittery pink trail down his shirt. "And putting on a new shirt."

Danny waved casually as Dipper left the room. As soon as the door closed, Mabel grabbed Danny's arm and dragged him over to her bed. "Do you like scrapbooks?"

"I don't really know. I don't look at scrapbooks too often."

She gasped and squished his cheeks. "You've never lived!" Scrambling down from the bed, she dragged a glittery and ribboned book out. She'd obviously put a lot of work into it, the book bursting with too many papers. 

"This is us last year. Look how much of a dweeb Dipper is!" She smiled. "And I still have that sweater. Its really really soft." 

Danny peered down at the two. They looked so young, and so innocent. Dipper had the perfect face of boredom on and Mabel was grinning the same as she did now. If he wasn't told that was a year ago, he could've believed it was from only a few weeks in the past.

"This is when Dipper became really paranoid that Norman was a zombie. Here, look at him saying his arm spelled "Beware"."

"Oooh, Summerween! That was fun." 

They flipped through the book, Mabel chattering away about each of her adventures. Danny guessed she rarely got to do this, based off of her energy. Maybe not everyone knew about the weirdness they were accustomed to and she couldn't show it to them. If so, he related to her a lot more than she knew. 

"And here's Pacifica accepting a ceremonial gift to represent our friendship!"

"That's a taco covered in lint." Danny pointed out. 

"Exactly!" She exclaimed as Dipper came into the room. 

"Good news, everyone wants to meet you. Bad news, they want to test how cool he is."

"Why is that a problem?" Mabel inquired, tossing a wad of gum in her mouth. "Danny seems pretty cool to me."

"No, you don't understand. They only became really friendly with us after the Convenience Store and Weirdmaggedon, which means-" Dipper griped. 

"-They're gonna make him do something dangerous?" Mabel filled in.

"Not only that, they're expecting him to do something badass _as a human_."

Danny shrugged. "Just became I'm not fully gonna transform doesn't mean I can't handle myself."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I say, tell you friends to bring it on!" Danny smiled. "Show me the full weirdness of...Gravity Lake?"

"Gravity Falls, but close enough!" Mabel gave him a highfive. "Let's do this thing!"

And then the doorbell rang.


End file.
